The world’s coldest city where temperatures drop to -64C | World | News

The coldest city in the world once clocked record-breaking low temperatures of -64.4C and gets less than four hours of sunlight per day.

Yakutsk in Siberia, Russia recorded the staggering temperature on February 5 1891, and now the average temperature in January is a bone-chilling -42C.

The warmest months of the year, May and September, just about scrape above-freezing average low temperatures of 1C.

Yakutsk is the world’s coldest city without being the closest city to the North Pole, but temperatures plummet there because it’s a long way from anything that would help regulate temperatures, for example the Sea of Okhotsk, 450 miles away.

It’s also built over the river Lea, the valley of which traps cold air, and gets hit by the high-pressure system known as the Siberian High every winter.

The Siberian High brings cold air masses from the North Pole, causing long periods of extreme cold weather. The city is also built on permafrost, meaning the ground is always frozen.

Compounding these brutal winter conditions is the lack of sunlight, with Yakutsk often being plunged into darkness for more than 20 hours a day.

Despite these harsh conditions, the city still has a population of 355,000 – roughly the same as Coventry – most of whom work at a diamond mine run by Alrosa.

Russia is also home to the coldest inhabited place in the world – Oymyakon, remore village roughly a 21-hour drive from Yakutsk.

Oymyakon is only home to around 500 people and holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded, a staggering -71.2C.

People who live inthe village must keep their curs running if they’re outside as it’s so cold they won’t be able to reststart if they’re turned off.